


Happy Place

by princess_fluffle



Category: WandaVision (TV), X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princess_fluffle/pseuds/princess_fluffle
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Charles Xavier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	1. Chapter 1

It was about six months after Charles moved to Genosha and he sat daydreaming in the garden as Erik was taking a shower.

When the idea of a mutant safe haven was brought up, the United Nations asked Charles for someone to spearhead the endeavor and he insisted it was Erik. What became Genosha was an amazing idea, and Erik was just the person that needed. Erik has not been nearly as sure about being so far away from the school they’d rebuilt together but with the promise of frequent visits both ways, he quickly took like a fish to water.

All that said, the students who soon became teachers, always thought that when Charles would return from a long weekend visit, Erik would be with him, and to stay for good.

“One of these days,” Peter buzzed by Charles one afternoon as he made his way toward Jean, who was setting a cup of tea in his office upon his return.

“Don’t mind him, we all just always think you two will end up growing old together but he’s got time to come home,” she giggled.

“I hope he never does,” Charles sighed. “The fear response acts as a sort of smoke detector in your head that's supposed to go off when the brain perceives danger, and it triggers the fight-or-flight response.”

He stared at Jean, who nodded. "With anxiety the smoke detector is set to a much more sensitive level, and the person will also have a much more dramatic reaction. Take Erik...”

The girl laughed but he pushed on.

“I’m serious. He’s not going off the handle, he swears there’s a Fire, or there could be one. There was a fire and other people are having a fire, or there could be a fire again one day because there was one and what if this time it’s worse?”

The redhead tossed her long locks, “So that’s why he never comes home with you? Because the mansion might have a fire?”

It made sense to her. The building was older and there were a lot of tiny people who’d need to be saved if there were an emergency but Charles shook his head.

“There’s always a fire,” Charles looked at her. “Which is to say, there’s always going to be something to be anxious about, for everyone. But Erik, he wants to fix it, God love him, but you can’t. You can only control the little things around you. He’s got his frogs and he goes for walks through the seasons, grows vegetables.”

“He’s got his own little piece of happy, that he can control. But his family still died in front of him, there’s still families going through the same things he has, and prejudice is still out there. It still gets to him and sometimes he screams.”

Jean laughed, having seen the man once murder three rakes while planting tomatoes.

“He’s just learning to focus on his little bit of heaven. Westchester, though, never did it.”

“Earth to Charles,” Erik broke the memory. “I said Hank wrote to me.”

“Oh, what for?” 

“He said that he was wondering if we’d be interested in spending a few weeks at the school,” Erik smiled. “That he thought he’d mentioned it to you but wasn’t positive.”

Hank was positive, Charles knew. He’d actually mentioned it on several occasions, each of which time Charles had evaded answering but he also knew, however, that Hank was too kind to say that. Apparently, he also was cunning enough to go around him for the answer. 

“Ah, yeah,” Charles rubbed his head. “He mentioned making a visit at some point but we are busy here.” 

“Well, not really,” Erik reassured him. “But, moreover, the students are interested in learning about the war and he thought, what better than to have someone who was actually there to teach it. He worried I might not feel comfortable doing it and wanted to talk to me first.” 

“I don’t think…” Charles started in.

“I don’t know how good I’d be at teaching, I tend to be a pushover every time I try it,” Erik smirked, “but I think it would be really good to talk to them. And don’t worry, I know what you are thinking. It won’t get me fired up.” 

“I thought that was my trick,” Charles tried not to look too concerned. 

“Charles,” Erik sat on his lap and looked him in the eye. “I know what happened with Jean but that was an extreme circumstance. I promised, I’ve laid down the helmet for good, Magneto is gone. I didn’t even have a cape.”

“You can’t leave Genosha,” tears came down the telepath’s face. “It’s your happy. It’s the only thing that’s ever kept you from fighting yourself. Not Westchester, not the school, this place is the only thing that has ever been good enough to stop you from self combusting.” 

“Love,” Erik wiped his face. 

“Don’t ‘Oh Love me,” Charles stared at him.

“I wasn’t. Love, specifically loving you, that is the only thing that has ever been good enough. Genosha isn’t my slice of paradise, my happiness. The thing that keeps me going is the fact that you saw all the-” he tapped his brain. “And still, you love me and only ever see something beautiful.”

“I’m your piece of heaven” Charles smiled. “Oh god don’t look at me. I’m crying.”

“Yes you are, and you are very ugly when you cry,” Erik winked. “I must close my eyes and kiss you as to not see.”

  
  



	2. blissful ignorance

“Well luckily nobody was asking for your entire medical history just because you are watching a TV program that mentioned a child getting chicken pox,” Charles joked into Erik’s mind as Hank spouted on about all the illnesses you can prevent with vaccines now.

“Oh pish,” Erik mentally answered back as he stifled an audible laugh. “He was never given the love he deserved as a child and with no Raven around, he needs attention from us.”

“Oh, you know What I could go for?” Scott pointed at a commercial for Cinnabon in an attempt to change the subject. “A good cinnamon roll.”

“I’ll go make some,” Erik jumped off the couch. “Charles, you want to help? I’ll let you lick the bowl after mixing the filling.”

This is nice, Erik thought, as he meandered toward the kitchen. Much like the other times he’d stayed at the mansion, days had turned into weeks and then months until he’d found himself a little place in daily life. This time though, there were two major differences, the first being that he hadn’t ended up here by some potentially world ending crisis like had happened in 1962 and again a few decades later when he’d lost his family and almost Charles thanks to Apocalypse.

The other difference was Charles himself. He’d come with the telepath rather than to him -not a visitor dropping by, squatting, possibly unwelcome and trying to prove a place of belonging. He was a guest who’d been invited- Hank had written to them asking if they’d be interested in a visit because the children missed them. And when he did leave, he had no doubt that Charles would be by his side.

His reverie was interrupted by a feeling of cookware shifting in one of the cupboards. He located the culprit and opened the door to see a small mutant seated with a soup pot as a hat.

“Hello,” he suppressed a smile.

“Oh hi, Mr Neto,” the girl said casually. “This isn’t what it probably looks like.”

“Ah,” Erik put a hand to his chin. “So you aren’t starting to make little girl stew?”

“No no! Nothing like that. I’m hiding because I think I did something wrong,” she took his hand as he helped her out. “See I sometimes I can touch the tv and make channels come that don’t normally work. You know like from England or something else you are supposed to pay for but it is free cause of me like when Beauty and the Beast is on Pay Per View.”

“Right,” Erik assumed that she’d been aiming for something innocent. Her smile was so sweet it could cause dental rot and sure, She’d been a bit naughty What could be so bad to lead her to hiding? “Oh, Um, Emily is it?”

The pint size mutant nodded.

“Were some of the people doing bad things like, maybe hurting each other? Or, perhaps naked? Which isn’t bad actually but inappropriate to watch at your age?”

“Nope,” Emily shook her head, “ that was the weirdest part. Hey can I eat that apple? Thank you, I’ve been really hungry in there and apples are my favorite. They’re just so juicy and delicious like candy sweet but healthy food.”

As she started to eat the apple and walk out of the room, Erik halted her with a cookie sheet in the air, “you were saying...”

She blinked back at him.

“About what you were watching.”

“It’s this show I’ve never seen before. There’s a lady and she’s magic and her husband has a job and sometimes is saying ``don't do the magic.” She tilted her head. “I think they’re married. He’s shiny and handsome because it wasn’t colored and now it’s colorful.”

“You mean Bewitched,” Erik laughed and lifted the cookie sheet out of her way.

“No!” Emily put her hand on her hip. “And it’s not I dreamed A Genie. It’s a new one and none of us kids have seen it. I love it and most of us do but stupid Carly went and tattled because she didn’t like it how the babies happened.”

Erik’s eyes began to widen as Charles entered the room, causing the telepath to make a quizzical face.

“Tell the Prof... tell Charles about Carly,” Erik urged so the little girl continued.

“There was a big puffy bird and a poof of smoke and then two babies came but stupid Carly ran out saying I was in trouble for using powers on the TV just ‘cause the bird.”

“Ahh, a stork,” Erik breathed relieved.

“Before that she didn’t mind,” she added sassily. “Mr. Peter came by and said poop but, you know, with an S so I came and hid.”

It seemed like nothing too awful and they assured her it was fine to go back to playing with her friends before once again, gathering ingredients for, and subsequently starting to bake cinnamon rolls completely unaware of the worlds being torn apart and rebuilt not so far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is coming...


End file.
